Weekly Release #2

Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sat., Dec. 2-3 -- at Cliff Keen Invitational (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Friday, Dec. 9 -- vs. Nebraska (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 11 -- at Central Michigan (Mount Pleasant, Mich.), 2 p.m.

This Week: at Cliff Keen Invitational
The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team will take its annual trip to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the 24th annual Cliff Keen Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 2-3) at the Cashman Center.

The tournament is slated to begin at 9 a.m. PST on Friday with the pigtail round, immediately followed by the first and second rounds and the consolation pigtails and first round at 10 a.m. Wrestling will resume Friday evening at 7 p.m. with the quarterfinals and first and second consolation rounds. On Saturday, the consolation third round is slated for 9 a.m. and will be immediately followed by the semifinal and consolation fourth round, as well as the consolation semifinals and finals, which will determine the fifth-, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-place winners for each weight class and are expected to begin at 12:30 p.m. Saturday evening will feature the championship finals, determining the top four place-winners for each weight, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

This year's field at the Cliff Keen Invitational will feature 45 of the top collegiate wrestling programs in the nation, including 10 teams ranked in the most recent NWCA poll. Headlining the participating teams are No. 4 Illinois, No. 10 Arizona State, No. 14 Missouri and No. 15 Wisconsin.

Cliff Keen Invitational History
Michigan has competed in the annual tournament 22 times dating back to 1983, missing only the first year of the tournament in 1982. Formerly known as the Las Vegas Hall of Fame, the tournament was renamed the Cliff Keen Invitational in 1993 to honor former Michigan wrestling coach and collegiate wrestling icon Cliff Keen. The tournament is run by a pair of former Michigan wrestlers -- three-time NCAA champion Mark Churella Sr. (1976-79) and Mark Churella Jr. (2001), who serve as executive director and tournament director, respectively. For more information about the Cliff Keen Invitational, visit www.cklvwrestle.com.

Michigan has placed fifth or better in nine of the last 11 seasons at the annual tournament, including first-place showings in 2001 and 2005, and has never finished lower than 10th place in its 21 appearances. The Michigan starting lineup will feature five grapplers with experience in the tournament and five newcomers to the invitational.

Wolverines at the Cliff Keen Invitational

Season	Place	Points	Champions
2004-05	First	148	Mark Moos (125), Ryan Bertin (157), Ryan Churella (165), Greg Wagner (Hwt)
2003-04	Second	134.5	None
2002-03	Seventh	87	None
2001-02	First	163	Otto Olson (174), Andy Hrovat (184)
2000-01	10th	54	None
1999-2000	Fifth	96	Joe Warren (133), Otto Olson (174)
1998-99	Fourth	90.5	None
1997-98	Fourth	101	Jeff Catrabone (167), Airron Richardson (Hwt)
1996-97	Fourth	102	Jeff Catrabone (167)
1995-96	Fourth	89.5	None
1994-95	Fifth	N/A	N/A
1993-94	Fourth	81	Sean Bormet (158), Steve King (Hwt)
1992-93	Eighth	50	None
1991-92	Fifth	75.75	None
1990-91	Fifth	N/A	None
1989-90	Sixth	67.75	None
1988-89	Fourth	79.5	John Fisher (134), Joe Pantaleo (158)
1987-88	Fourth	92.5	None
1986-87	Fifth	75.5	Doug Wyland (118)
1985-86	Eighth	60	None
1984-85	Fifth	103	Joe McFarland (126)
1983-84	Seventh	53	None

Last Year at the Cliff Keen Invitational
The Wolverines captured the team title (148 points) at the Cliff Keen Invitational for the second time in four seasons last year behind the performances of four individual champions and six placewinners. Junior/sophomore Mark Moos (Lorain, Ohio/St. Edwards HS), senior/junior Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS), fifth-year senior Ryan Bertin and senior/junior Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) all registered perfect 6-0 records to claim individual crowns while sophomore/freshman Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) placed third at 149 pounds and junior/sophomore Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS) earned fifth place at 174.

Probable Michigan Starting Lineup

Wgt.	Wrestler	Yr./Elig.
125	Jim Shutich	Jr./Jr.
133	Mark Moos	Sr./Jr.
141	Josh Churella	Jr./So.
149	Eric Tannenbaum	Jr./So.
157	Steve Luke	So./Fr.
165	Ryan Churella	5th/Sr.
174	Nick Roy	Sr./Jr.
184	Tyrel Todd	So./Fr.
197	Willie Breyer or Casey White	5th/Sr. So./Fr.
Hwt	Greg Wagner	5th/Sr.

Recapping the Penn State Dual
Michigan rallied from an early nine-point deficit to win five of the final six bouts and earn a 23-15 conference victory against the Nittany Lions in its 2005-06 season opener. The middle weights were again strong for the Wolverines as U-M posted four straight wins between 141 and 165 pounds, including a third-period fall by fifth-year senior captain Ryan Churella to put the dual victory in hand. Sophomore/freshman Tyrel Todd capped the Wolverines' performance with a lopsided 18-5 victory at the closing weight of 184 pounds.

In their Debut
Four Wolverines made their collegiate varsity debut in Michigan's dual meet against Penn State (Nov. 26). Sophomore/freshmen Steve Luke and Tyrel Todd earned wins at 165 and 184 pounds, respectively, while sophomore/freshmen Casey White and Brandon Elliott suffered tough defeats at 197 and 133 pounds. The total matched the number from two seasons ago, against Central Michigan, Michigan debuted four new faces in the season opener.

Climbing the Charts
With his win against Penn State's Aaron Anspach in the season-opening dual meet (Nov. 26), fifth-year senior captain Greg Wagner improved his career mark to 106-34, moving him to the 20th spot among Michigan's all-time wins leaders, where he shares the position with two-time All-American heavyweight Matt Brink (1999-2002). Four-time All-American John Fisher holds the Wolverine career win record with a 183-21 mark during his five seasons at Michigan (1985-89).

Joining the Century Club
Fifth-year senior captain Ryan Churella inched closer to joining Wagner in Michigan prestigious 100-Win Club, earning a fall against Penn State's Phil Bomberger in the season opener (Nov. 26) to improve his career mark to 89-17. Churella's needs just 11 more wins to become the 27th Wolverine wrestle to tally 100 career victories.

In the Bonus
The fall last Saturday (Nov. 26) also gave fifth-year senior Ryan Churella sole possession of the 10th spot on Michigan's career falls list with 28 pins. Churella has dominated the competition in his five seasons at Michigan, earning 53 of his 89 career wins (59.6 percent) with bonus points. In addition to his 28 falls, Churella boasts five career technical falls and 25 major decisions.

Starting Things with a Bang
With its 23-15 victory over Penn State last Saturday (Nov. 26), Michigan improved hits all-time mark in season openers to 54-26-2 and have won nine of the last 10 season openers. When U-M opens the season on the road, they have had a 25-20 mark. The only loss in recent years came last year, when Lehigh handed U-M a 22-15 loss in Bethlehem, Pa.

Master of the House
Head coach Joe McFarland enters his seventh season at the helm of the Wolverine program as the third winningest coach in U-M history with a career record of 89-21-2 (.799). Over his tenure, McFarland has led the Wolverines to five straight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships and coaches 14 different student-athletes to two NCAA individual titles, 24 All-America citations and nine Big Ten individual crowns. Last season, Michigan boasted its most successful season in three decades, compiling a 15-3-1 record (7-0-1 in Big Ten duals) en route to its second consecutive Big Ten dual meet title, third place at the Big Ten Championships and runner-up honors at the NCAA Championships, matching the best showing in program history.

Strength of Schedule
Michigan faces a tough field of competitors again this season, with 11 of the Wolverines' 13 dual meet opponents ranked among the top 25 teams in the National Wrestling Coaches Association's preseason poll, including four of the top-10 ranked teams. No. 4 Illinois leads the pack of ranked opponents, which also includes No. 6 Minnesota, No. 8 Lehigh, No. 9 Cornell, No. 11 Northwestern, No. 12 Penn State, No. 13 Central Michigan, No. 16 Indiana, No. 17 Nebraska, No. 18 Hofstra and No. 19 Michigan State.

A Look at the Polls
The Wolverines held onto the No. 3 spot in the most recent National Wrestling Coaches Association's poll, released Nov. 29. Michigan also boasts eight individuals ranked among the top 20 wrestlers in their respective weight classes in the NWCA/InterMat or Amateur Wrestling News polls. Michigan's four returning All-Americans lead the way with top-five listings, while freshman Tyrel Todd cracked the rankings for the first time, holding the No. 20 position in the NWCA/InterMat poll and No. 15 in Amateur Wrestling News.

NWCA/InterMat Division I Preseason Team Rankings (11/29/05)

RANK, TEAM POINTS PREV 1. Oklahoma State (12) 480 1 2. Illinois 453 4 3. Michigan 449 3 4. Oklahoma 444 2 5. Iowa State 429 7 6. Minnesota 410 6 7. Iowa 404 5 8. Wisconsin 378 15 9. Central Michigan 377 13 10. Lehigh 376 8 11. Cornell 358 9 12. Nebraska 346 17 13. Penn State 338 12 14. Northwestern 320 11 15. Missouri 317 14 16. Indiana 306 16 17. Michigan State 288 19 18. Arizona State 278 10 19. Hofstra 255 18 20. Northern Iowa 246 -- 21. Navy 244 -- 22. Edinboro 217 23 23. Army 213 -- 24. Northern Illinois 202 -- 25. Pennsylvania 198 25

Individual Rankings by InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News

Wgt.	Wrestler	InterMat	AWN
133	Mark Moos	11th	12th
141	Josh Churella	7th	4th
149	Eric Tannenbaum	2nd	3rd
157	Steve Luke	17th	--
165	Ryan Churella	3rd	3rd
174	Nick Roy	10th	15th
184	Tyrel Todd	20th	15th
Hwt	Greg Wagner	3rd	3rd

On the Horizon
The Wolverines will kick off the home portion of their 2005-06 slate next weekend when they host Nebraska on Friday (Dec. 9) for a 7 p.m. non-conference dual at Cliff Keen Arena. Two days later, U-M will head to Mount Pleasant, Mich. for its final dual of the calendar year, squaring off against intrastate rival Central Michigan at 2 p.m.

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423